


Oops, Baby, I Love You

by ally_chaaaan



Series: Klance AU Month (8 days late whoops) [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Falling In Love, Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, James is a rat here but I love him, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Klance AU Month 2019, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Langst, M/M, Tutoring, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ally_chaaaan/pseuds/ally_chaaaan
Summary: For years he’d been dreaming of getting into the Galaxy Garrison and training to become a fighter pilot. Then, when he'd been offered a place, he’d only been good enough to be a cargo pilot.He had to have more to offer than that, right?With the chance to move up to the fighter-pilot class, Lance goes to his sister for help.Turns out she has other plans in mind.Never in a million years did Lance think the great Keith Kogane would become his tutor.(Alternatively, that Garrison Tutor AU that no one asked for.)





	Oops, Baby, I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> It's 2AM lol.
> 
> Enjoy this self-indulgent fic of mine! I'm late to the Klance Au Month party, but I'm slowly working on it HAHAH

**DAY 8: GARRISON AU**

 

_ FIGHTER-CLASS PROMOTION EXAM _

 

At first, Lance thought he was seeing things. Surely… these kinds of things didn’t happen at the Garrison, right?

 

But, when Lance once again looked towards the bright blue flyer that hung upon the noticeboard, the words remained the same.

 

And that was how he ended up at his sister’s office.

 

“Veronica,” Lance pleaded, drawing out the vowels of her name. “ _ Please _ help me!”

 

“Lance,  _ no _ ,” Veronica frowned, adjusting her glasses and looking down at her brother with disdain. “How many times do I need to tell you? This test is to gauge your  _ own skills _ . I can’t be babysitting you in a real-life situation, so it’d be wrong to do that for you  _ now _ . And besides, Iverson would  _ never  _ let you in if he knew I helped you.”

 

“At least give me pointers!” Lance groaned, on the verge of getting on his knees and begging. She had to know how much Lance wanted this –  _ needed this _ . For years he’d been dreaming of getting into the Galaxy Garrison and training to become a fighter pilot. Then, when he  _ had _ been offered a place here, he’d only been good enough to be in the  _ cargo class _ .

 

He had to have more to offer than that, right?

 

“Lance, look–”

 

Veronica paused abruptly. Her attention had been caught by something happening behind him. He followed his sister’s gaze to the window of her office… 

 

And saw Captain Shirogane. 

 

Captain Shirogane, who was followed by…

 

Veronica’s expression turned wicked. 

 

Without another moment’s hesitation, Lance was unceremoniously dragged out of the office. He didn’t even have time to protest before he was standing before his hero. 

 

And  _ him _ .

 

“Shiro!” Veronica said brightly. “How’s life treating you?”

 

If Captain Shirogane were at all surprised at Veronica’s greeting, he didn’t show it. Instead, he gave her a small smile. “You know how it is. Been trying to keep  _ Mr Tough Guy _ over here out of trouble.”

 

“It wasn’t my fault this time!”

 

Keith Kogane. Fighter pilot extraordinaire, literal genius and  _ pain in Lance’s ass _ . There he stood, face flushed and glaring at the Captain. 

 

Captain Shirogane ignored Keith’s angry snarl and held out his hand to Lance. “You must be Veronica’s brother? She’s mentioned you a few times. I’m Shiro.”

 

Blinking, Lance took Shiro’s hand, still processing the fact that  _ Veronica  _ had told  _ Shiro  _ about her  _ failure little brother _ . When he met Shiro’s eyes, he blushed and choked out an introduction.

 

“Can I go now?” Keith grumbled, crossing his arms. “Shiro, you’re obviously needed elsewhere–”

 

“Nuh-uh-uh,  _ Keithy-Boy _ !” Veronica exclaimed suddenly, startling them all. “I have a proposition for you.”

 

Keith scowled, but at Shiro’s reprimanding look, remained where he stood.

 

Slowly, Lance began to connect the dots, trying to figure out  _ why  _ he had been dragged here.  _ Why  _ he’d been taken to Shiro and Keith. Why he’d–

 

_ Oh no _ .

 

Veronica seemed to sense that Lance had figured it out and the smile she sent to Lance screamed, _ oh yes _ .

 

“My favourite little brother over here has been asking me for help, you see. He wants tips for the upcoming fighter-class promotion exam.” Veronica said. “And, well, that’s not really fair to the other hopefuls, is it?”

 

Lance glanced at Keith, who wore the most unamused expression he’d ever seen in his life. 

 

“Shiro, you must be  _ tired _ keeping Keith in line,” Veronica continued. “And Lance will never stop pestering me about the promotion exam. So, I thought it’d be great if our problem children helped each other out instead!”

 

“What?” Keith spluttered. “What do you mean help each other out?”

 

“Yeah, what Mullet said!” Lance frowned.

 

Keith shot Lance a scathing look. Lance stuck his tongue out.

 

“Keith,” Shiro said gently, “this might be good for you.”

 

“I don’t  _ need  _ help!” Keith scoffed. “I don’t even  _ know _ this guy!”

 

_ Ouch.  _ That _ hurt.  _ And Lance thought they were rivals. “Well, Mullet, you’re too hot-headed to ever be helpful!”

 

“Are you joking?” Keith smirked. “You were thinking of taking the promotion test, right? Were you not enough to be in fighter-class to begin with?”

 

That  _ really  _ hurt. “No, I…” 

 

“Boys,” Veronica said warningly. “Since you two won’t listen to me, I’m giving you an order as your  _ superior _ . Keith, help my brother pass the fighter-class promotion exam. Lance, keep Keith out of trouble. Alright?”

 

There was silence as Lance and Keith stared each other down. On the one hand, Lance  _ dreaded  _ working with Keith. On the other hand… Lance  _ needed  _ to get into fighter-class. And if that meant being buddy-buddy with Keith… he could do it.

 

He sighed. “Alright–”

 

“This is stupid!” Keith snapped. “I’m leaving.”

 

“ _ Keith _ !” Shiro pleaded, stepping towards him. He reached for Keith only to be shoved off. Keith didn’t look back as he spun on his heel and left. 

 

“I’ll talk to him,” Shiro said, placing a comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lance, I’ll get him to come around.”

 

“It’s fine, Shiro,” Lance mumbled. “It was worth a shot.”

 

With one last apologetic look, Shiro went off to follow Keith.

 

“Well,” Veronica said after a moment. “That went well.”

 

\---

 

“Keith!” Shiro called. Keith only scowled and walked faster. “Keith, come on!”

 

When they arrived at Keith’s dorm room, Keith’s scowl deepened. He didn’t bother turning to face Shiro, knowing that he’d follow Keith inside.

 

“I’m not here to make friends, okay?” Keith said. “I don’t need a babysitter either. Lance is the most obnoxious person on the planet!”

 

“Wait, so you  _ do _ know him–”

 

“I don’t want to hear it, Shiro!” Keith yelled. He winced a little at the harshness of his voice. He really didn’t like being mad at Shiro, but his anger was getting to the best of him. “Lance is… Lance is so  _ annoying _ . To keep me in line, he’d have to follow me everywhere, right? And then I’d have to tutor him? What kind of torture–”

 

“Keith.”

 

The solemn tone in Shiro’s voice made Keith pause. Something akin to guilt flared in Keith’s stomach upon seeing the disappointment in Shiro’s eyes. 

 

“You’re on two strikes,” Shiro said quietly. “One more and you will be  _ kicked out of the Garrison _ .”

 

“W-What?” Keith spluttered, his temper simmering out immediately. “What do you mean  _ kicked out _ ?”

 

Shiro’s smile was sad when he said, “I mean that if you get into another incident, you’ll no longer be part of the fighter pilot program. You’ll lose your room here and since you’re not 18 yet…”

 

“No!” Keith cried, stepping forward to clutch at Shiro’s shirt desperately. “You’re lying! That’s not… that can’t be–”

 

“It’s true,” Shiro confirmed. “I didn’t want to tell you, but you’re on two strikes now. If your record stays clean for three months–about the same time until the promotion exam–your strikes will be removed on the basis of good behaviour. I know it was sudden, but Officer McClain’s proposition doesn’t sound too bad. At least consider it?”

 

“But Lance–”

 

“What did Lance do that makes you so averse to this?”

 

Keith blushed and looked away. “He’s just… annoying, I guess.”

 

Shiro didn’t seem convinced but he sighed and moved for the door. “Look, Keith, if I can trust that you can handle yourself, then you don’t need to help him out. But I  _ know  _ you, Keith. You don’t do well alone. And you were  _ meant  _ to be a pilot. I don’t want to see your talent wasted just because you didn’t want to connect with people. Just…  _ please _ try? For me? You don’t have to be friends with him if you don’t want to, but at least help him out until the three months are up.”

 

“...  _ Fine _ .”

 

\---

 

“I can’t do this, Hunk.” Lance groaned, shutting his textbook with a sigh. “Maybe I really  _ am  _ not good enough to be a pilot.”   
  


“Buddy, of  _ course _ you’re good enough–”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Pidge said absentmindedly from beside Hunk. “He  _ did  _ crash the flight sim.  _ Twice _ . And it was a  _ straight course _ .”

 

Hunk sent Pidge a reprimanding look before turning to look back at his best friend. “Pidge is just messing with you. Lance, you’ve been working harder than everyone else since day one. If anything, Iverson should be  _ begging  _ you to join the fighter-class.”

 

“But Pidge is right, I always crash the simplest flight simulators. And those are the cargo-pilot courses! Imagine me in a fighter-pilot course! This is hopeless!” Lance yelled, forgetting where they were. In a flash, a librarian appeared and gave Lance a withering glare.

 

Lance threw his arms on the table and buried his face in them. Hunk and Pidge exchanged tired glances, knowing that once Lance was this way, it was impossible to get him out of it.

 

For a moment no one said anything. Then, to Lance’s left was a loud  _ THUMP  _ that made Lance jump up in surprise.

 

There, with a perpetual scowl on his face, was  _ Keith _ , sitting down whilst adjusting a mountain of textbooks on the table.

 

“Keith?” Hunk said by way of greeting. “Keith Kogane? Keith, as in  _ top-of-the-class-Keith _ ?”

 

Keith frowned at the title but nodded nonetheless.

 

“You didn’t tell us you were friends with Keith,” Pidge noted curiously, adjusting their glasses. 

 

“I’m  _ not _ ,” Lance frowned, turning to look at Keith. “What are you doing here, Mullet?”

 

“I don’t have a mullet–”

 

“No, no, no. Don’t tell me. You’re here to make fun of me.”

 

“Why would I–”

 

“I know my sister said those things yesterday, but it’s  _ fine _ –”

 

“You don’t understand–”

 

“–I don’t need your help, okay? I’ll figure it out on my own. You really don’t have to force yourself.”

 

“But–”

 

“Alright, hold up!” Hunk raised his hands placatingly. It was a miracle that Lance and Keith stopped bickering. “What’s going on?”

 

“It’s nothing, Hunk, don’t worry!” Lance exclaimed at the same time Keith said, “We’ve got orders to help each other out.”

 

“Dude!” Lance huffed. Keith shrugged, but the quirk in his eyebrows screamed a challenge to Lance.  _ Go on,  _ he seemed to say.  _ Tell them the truth _ .

 

And because Lance loved a challenge, and was an idiot, he told Hunk and Pidge the truth.

 

\---

 

_ Sorry, Shiro, _ Keith thought.  _ I guess this is goodbye _ .

 

In the two weeks since they’d started working together, Keith found out that Lance was a hopeless idiot. They had agreed to meet after classes and training in the library every day, and every hour spent with Lance sent Keith into another bout of despair. No way could he withstand Lance’s obnoxious, flirtatious personality for  _ three months. _ Not when he thought back to that first time…  

 

Okay, when Lance actually put his mind to things, he was pretty decent at getting the theory down… and he really wasn’t bad company when he wasn’t being obnoxious… Keith really did like hanging out with him.

 

“This is  _ easy _ !” Lance exclaimed, slamming his textbook closed. “Man, I’m  _ flying  _ through this textbook! I’ll be a fighter pilot before you know it!”

 

Keith watched as Lance did his little ‘celebratory jig’. Hunk and Pidge had left a few hours ago, as they usually did when Lance and Keith got too invested in their work, and with it being so late, they were virtually the only ones left in the library. 

 

Keith was slowly losing his patience. He’d been hearing nothing but  _ this is easy!  _ and  _ passing will be a piece of cake!  _ and he was sick of it. Or maybe he’d reached his quota of human interaction.  _ For the rest of his life _ .

 

“You think  _ theory  _ is all you need to pass?” He finally snapped. “I think Pidge mentioned your little habit of  _ crashing the simulators _ .  _ Every time you fly _ .”

 

Lance huffed indignantly, but Keith didn’t miss the slump in his shoulders. And despite the fact that he didn’t intend to stay friends with Lance after their three months was up, Keith remembered his promise to Shiro.

 

There was also the fact that if he got kicked out of the Garrison, they’d send him back  _ there _ .

 

“Alright,” Keith sighed, standing up. “Let’s go.”

 

“Where?” Lance frowned. “We’re not done here!”

 

“Oh yes we are,” Keith said, stretching his arms over his head. There was a satisfying  _ crack  _ before Keith moved to pack up the textbooks they’d been studying. “We need a change of pace. We’ve been studying for two weeks now.”

 

“The practice sims are closed for today if that’s what you mean,” Lance remarked, but moved to pack up his stuff too. 

 

Keith smirked but didn’t say anything as Lance trailed after him.

 

\---

 

“ _ What the cheese _ ?”

 

He had followed Keith down a path he’d never taken before. They walked through corridor after corridor, going through doors Lance was pretty sure he didn’t have clearance to. So caught up in his thoughts, Lance didn’t realise Keith had stopped until he crashed into his back.

 

Ignoring Keith’s angry grumbling, Lance walked around him to properly look at where they were. A training facility. The _fighter-pilot_ training facility. It was so unlike the once Lance was used to in the cargo wing that all he could do was stare open-mouthed in wonder.

 

Junior pilots littered the training floor, each doing different exercises. Some were running through an obstacle course, some were sparring, some – Lance noted with excitement – were shooting target after target at a firing range.

 

“We have a later curfew than you guys, apparently,” Keith explained. “Gives us time to train.”

 

Lance was used to cargo pilots turning in early. Only training when necessary. Giving up when it got too hard. This… 

 

This made Lance want to work harder to earn his place amongst these people.

 

“Come on, Lance,” Keith said, that infuriating smirk back on his lips. “That’s for another day.”

 

“Where are we going?” Lance asked curiously, momentarily forgetting the animosity between them. 

 

In lieu of a reply, Keith motioned for Lance to follow him.

 

Separate to the training floor was a dark room that illuminated itself once they’d stepped inside. Lance gasped at the cockpit they were now standing in. It was complete with a pilot’s chair, dashboard and window displaying the dark night sky. 

 

“Our simulators are a bit more detailed than yours,” Keith said. “It looks and moves exactly as a plane does. If you want a chance at passing that exam, you’d better get used to this.”

 

Lance couldn’t believe it. Keith really was going to help him pass the exam. In the weeks since they’d started studying together, Lance couldn’t get a proper read on Keith. Despite being so adamant against helping Lance, he’d gone beyond what Lance had expected of him. Sometimes he’d show up to their study sessions with textbooks filled to the brim with colourful post-it-notes, almost as if he’d taken the time to consider what Lance needed to know. And now he was letting Lance try out the flight simulator… which may or may not be illegal.

 

“Huh,” Lance smiled softly. “I don’t actually hate you right now.”

 

When Keith didn’t reply, Lance turned to look at him. He had his back to Lance, and the tips of his ears were red…

 

“Keith? You okay buddy?”

 

“Y-Yeah,” Keith said shakily. “Uh, want to try the sim?”

 

“Oh heck yeah!” Lance beamed. “Watch out, Kogane, the  _ Tailor  _ is coming through!”

 

\---

 

The Tailor? What was up with that?

 

And yet, as Keith watched Lance flop down on the pilot’s chair, he couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

“Let’s get this party started!” Lance screeched, pulling the lever that started the simulation.

 

Despite his enthusiasm, Lance flew horribly. Keith realised quickly what the issue was. It wasn’t that Lance didn’t know what he was doing. His hands moved expertly across the dashboard with the ease of someone who had done it a million times before. His shoulders were set in a relaxed position, and he didn’t hesitate in his movements.

 

The issue was that Lance was trying too hard to  _ show off _ .

 

And completely  _ failing _ .

 

Every so often he’d go for a fancy loop or a flashy manoeuvre, and it was  _ that _ that gave off the illusion that Lance was a terrible pilot. But he wasn’t. He really wasn’t.

 

The sim ended with a  _ hiss  _ and Lance slumped in his chair when the words  _ FAILED  _ flashed across the window display.

 

“Wow…” Lance panted. “I mean, I failed, but that was…”

 

“ _ Horrible _ .”

 

Lance looked to Keith with a frown. It was then that Keith realised he’d said that out loud.  _ Well, shit _ . He hadn’t meant to, it just happened sometimes.

 

“I finally convinced myself you were helping me for real, dude,” Lance mumbled. “Turns out you strung me along this whole time just to make fun of me like this. I… think it’s time I go.”

 

Panic seized Keith’s chest and he quickly moved to grip Lance’s forearm as he stood to leave. “Wait! I didn’t mean that! I just–I can’t–I’m…  _ fuck _ .”

 

“ _ What _ ?” Lance barked. “You just called my flying horrible! I  _ know  _ that Keith. God, do I know that. I’m horrible at flying, and I’ll never be as good as you. You just don’t have to be a jerk about it.”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Keith insisted. “I didn’t mean it that way!” His grip on Lance’s arm slackened as he looked to the ground with shame. “Your movements were confident, well-practised, relaxed… it’s just… the way you  _ try too hard– _ it’s horrible.”

 

“You’re still making fun of me!”

 

“I’m not!” Keith protested. “I… I’m not good at articulating what I’m trying to say! You’re a good pilot, okay? I really mean it. But Lance, do you ever stop to consider that you’re doing too many unnecessary movements?”

 

Lance’s brows came together, but when he didn’t argue, it encouraged Keith to continue explaining.

 

“You’re trying too hard to be flashy,” Keith went on. “I think if you focused more on what you’re doing, you’d fly better. The flashy part comes later–naturally.”

 

“Oh…” For a moment, Keith worried that he’d ruined it. Lance didn’t say anything for a while, seemingly in his own head. In that time Keith let his own worries run rampant.  _ Lance surely thinks what I said was offensive. I offended him, didn’t I? He’s gonna tell Shiro and then I’m going to get another strike and then I’ll be back–back in that place– _

 

“Thank you, Keith.”

 

_ This is a mess. I shouldn’t have agreed to this in the first place. I should have laid low and– _

 

“Keith!”

 

Warm palms came to lightly tap on Keith’s cheeks. He blinked up at Lance, who had gotten closer and was holding Keith’s face in his hands. He felt the heat rise up his skin as Lance gave him a reassuring smile. 

 

“Relax, Mullet, we’re good.”

 

“You’re not… mad?”

 

“Of course I’m not mad! Are you kidding?” Lance scoffed. “Hey, I’m sorry for blowing up at you. I guess I’m just so used to people making fun of my flying skills that I didn’t take what you said into consideration.”

 

“So I didn’t offend you?”

 

“Jesus, Keith, how many times do I have to tell you? I  _ overreacted _ . We’re okay.”

 

_ We’re okay _ . Keith had no idea how long he stared up at Lance’s eyes but by the time he noticed he was staring Lance was pulling away.

 

“Let’s head back,” Lance said, no hint of being flustered like Keith was. “It’s like, 10. This face need it’s beauty sleep, of course!”

 

“O-Okay.” Keith numbly followed Lance out the room and through the corridors. He didn’t realise he had followed Lance all the way to his dorm room until he bumped into Lance’s back.

 

“Dude, I appreciate you walking me home but you  _ do  _ know the fighter pilot dorms are on the  _ other side  _ of this building? Go to sleep, Mullet.”

 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Um… goodnight?”

 

Lance chuckled, and then, almost absentmindedly, tucked a loose strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. “Night, Keith.”

 

As Lance headed into the room he shared with Hunk, Keith felt his heart burst.

 

Three months, and then he was supposed to cut off all ties with Lance. Because he didn’t  _ do  _ friends.

 

But thinking about how lonely his life had been before him, Keith didn’t think he could go back to that.

 

Oh no.

 

_ Oh no _ .

 

\---

 

After that night with the training sim, Lance and Keith found a new rhythm. Every other day, they would head down to the fighter-pilot wing and train for the physical tests. When they weren’t doing that, Keith drilled Lance on theory. Lance found that keeping Keith out of trouble was easy–as long as they were focusing on the promotion exam, Keith wasn’t picking fights with random people.

 

That is, until now.

 

They were finishing up with a session in the flight simulator–Keith was right, after dropping his act, Lance found that he was doing  _ much  _ better at flying–when they bumped into trouble.

 

“Look at you, Keithy! Staying out of trouble for once! Charity work is fitting for you.”

 

“James,” Keith growled, taking a step forward. Lance looked to James only to recognise him as the guy he’d often see rile Keith up. He was smirking as he walked up to them.

 

“Aw, you’ve lost that spark we all know and love! Where’s that angry fire, huh? Did this dull cargo pilot snuff it out?” 

 

“What did you say about Lance–”

 

“Defensive! So you have a soft spot for sob stories?”

 

Lance wouldn’t lie. What James was saying about them both was downright  _ wrong _ and extremely hurtful. But he ignored the insults and reached for Keith’s arm. For all Keith had done for him, it was time he did something for Keith.

 

“Hey, don’t mind him,” Lance whispered, not sparing James a glance. “Dude’s a masochist just asking to be punched. He’s not worth your time.”

 

Lance worried that Keith wasn’t hearing anything he was saying, but slowly he heard Keith’s breathing regulate and saw his shoulders unwind.

 

James frowned and took another step towards them. “You think you’re above me, huh? Well–”

 

“We’ll see you around, James,” Keith said curtly, his arm twisting so that he gripped Lance’s hand tightly. Lance let Keith lead them around the corner until they were well away from James.

 

“Wow,” Lance breathed.

 

“Yeah…” Keith grinned. “That felt  _ way  _ more satisfying than punching him in the face.”

 

They were quiet for a moment before bursting into laughter.

 

“You see? There are  _ much _ better ways to deal with annoying people. Did you see his face when you went all ‘ _ see you around _ ’? Man, I will never forget that moment  _ ever _ .”

 

“Me too,” Keith agreed with a grin. For a moment, silence lapsed between them. Lance’s gaze travelled down to their joined hands, and for some reason, he didn’t feel inclined to let go.

 

\---

 

Keith didn’t want to let go either.

 

\---

 

After  _ that moment _ , Lance headed immediately back to his room, where he could unload on his friends.

 

“Hunk, my man, my buddy, my pal–”

 

“Spit it out, Lance!” Pidge wailed from where they’d set themselves up in the corner of Lance and Hunk’s room.

 

“Well…” Lance breathed. “I think I may or may not have a…  _ teeny tiny… thing  _ for Keith.”

 

“Gross, Lance,” Pidge cackled.

 

“It’s horrible!” Lance groaned, tossing himself over Hunk so that he was sprawled all over him. “I never thought I’d come to like that stupid mullet, but–agh–it’s actually really cute? We’ve been working so hard these past few weeks, and then today we had a moment and–”

 

“Lance,” Hunk said gently. “Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”

 

“Yeah dude,” Pidge chimed in. “You’ve been sending each other serious heart-eyes  _ all week _ . It’s disgusting.”

 

Lance chose to ignore Pidge’s comment and instead buried his face in Hunk’s chest. Hunk instinctively went to wrap his arms around Lance in a reassuring hug. 

 

“I’m not saying I know what Keith is thinking, but I do think something’s there. You never know until you try.”

 

“Really?” Lance mumbled, his voice muffled against his best friend’s shirt. “You don’t think Keith hates me?”

 

“How could he hate you?” Pidge scoffed. “He wouldn’t still be helping you if he didn’t  _ tolerate  _ you to some degree.”

 

Maybe it was because Pidge was being serious for once. Maybe it was Hunk’s encouraging smile. Or maybe it was a random burst of adrenaline. But in that instant, Lance shot up to his feet.

 

“You know what, I’m gonna head over to his room. Like,  _ right now _ .”

 

Hunk gave him a thumbs up while Pidge yelled, “ _ Whatever you do remember you are in the eyes of the Lord! _ ”

 

And then Lance was out the door.

 

\---

 

“Shiro, this is a  _ disaster _ .”

 

Keith had been pacing up and down his room for five minutes now. Shiro had come to visit to see how he was going and immediately Keith had broken down.  _ One week _ until that stupid promotion exam, and Keith was feeling the time he had left loom over his head like a guillotine. 

 

“It’s not  _ that  _ big of a deal.” Shiro gave a low chuckle at Keith’s answering groan.

 

“I didn’t  _ want  _ to be friends. I was supposed to help him pass and that was it. I was  _ using  _ him so that I could get my record clean. I didn’t ask for…  _ this _ .”

 

\---

 

Halfway to knocking, there was a pause.

 

“I can’t keep doing this with him. It’s  _ killing me _ .”

 

Slowly, the hand lowered. 

 

And then he ran.

 

\---

 

“I didn’t  _ think  _ I’d come to like him,” Keith admitted quietly. “He was so… infuriating at the beginning. I lied about not knowing him before, actually. He was there on the first day, all self-assured and cocky. But I was dumb, I asked him how he could possibly be so confident when he was just a cargo pilot. I remember him declaring then and there that we were rivals, and I never forgot him.” Keith sighed. “And now… I can’t stop thinking about him.”

 

“Keith…” Shiro prodded gently. “How do you  _ really  _ feel about him?”

 

“I… he calms me down.” Keith sighed wistfully. “When I’m with him, I feel like I’m not the reckless orphan kid that always gets into fights. He makes me laugh… and there’s never a dull moment between us.”

 

“Sounds like you care about him.”

 

“I… I guess I do.” Keith released a shaky breath. “I-Is it always this scary? I care about him so much it  _ hurts _ .”

 

“That’s part of loving someone,” Shiro smiled sadly. His expression turned distant. Keith remembered that Shiro was going through some scary moments himself.

 

“Shiro… I think… I think I want to be with him. Beyond the three months.”

 

“Well kiddo,” Shiro stood, like always, he placed a warm hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I think you should tell him that.”

 

And Keith would.  _ One week from now _ . After the promotion exam.

 

Keith couldn’t wait.

 

\---

 

Distantly, words of comfort were exchanged between two siblings. 

 

They curled around each other like they once had many lifetimes ago.

 

And then a broken-hearted boy fell asleep with unshed tears in his eyes.

 

\---

 

Lance avoided him all week.

 

\---

 

_ This was it _ . Three months of effort all boiled down to this moment.

 

He had considered quitting, but he didn’t want those three blissful months to go to waste.

 

So he walked into the exam room with his head held high.

 

\---

 

The strikes were removed.

 

\---

 

The exam results would be posted on the noticeboard the next day, just as the flyer that had started this whole mess had been three months ago.

 

Lance dreaded looking and had spent the better half of the morning buried under his sheets. It wasn’t until Hunk came to his room to drag him out that Lance bothered to check. While Hunk excused himself to get some lunch with the promise of seeing him later, Lance sluggishly headed for the board.

 

And almost stopped dead.

 

He was  _ there _ . Staring up at the board with an unreadable expression. Lance felt the urge to turn around and leave when he heard–

 

“Lance! I don’t know what I did but you  _ need  _ to see this.  _ Please _ .”

 

Reluctantly, Lance finally turned to look at him.

 

Keith looked  _ wrecked _ . His hair was tangled (more so than usual), there were bags under his eyes and his shoulders were curled inwards (as if he was trying to fold in on himself).

 

They didn’t dare speak as Lance took a peek at the names of the cadets who had passed the exam and were now fighter-class pilots. Ten names, printed boldly for everyone to see.

 

_ Chang, Xiao… Davis, Zachary… Evans, Lillie… Jackson, Estelle… Kimura, Kenshin…  _

 

_ McClain, Lance. _

 

“You made it,” Keith said softly. “You did it.”

 

“I… yeah, I guess I did.” Lance echoed, equally as soft. And then, “How’s your record, by the way? All clear?”

 

“What?” Keith spluttered. “How’d you know about–”

 

“I  _ heard  _ you,” Lance scowled. “When you told Shiro that you didn’t want to be friends with me.” An ugly rage bubbled in Lance’s stomach, remnants of the sorrow and pity he’d been feeling all week fuelling his anger. “So was James right? Was I really just charity work?”

 

Keith’s expression morphed into hurt, but Lance kept going. 

 

“Did hanging out with me feel like a chore? A necessary evil in order to get in good with Shiro? Were you secretly laughing at how  _ pathetic  _ I was?”

 

“Lance, it’s not like that–”

 

“Do you enjoy humiliating others?” Lance continued, angry tears spilling down his cheeks. “What was I to you? Some gullible cargo pilot that you could walk all over?”

 

“No!” Keith cried, surging forward to grasp Lance’s shoulders. “No, no no. Everything you’re saying isn’t true! Please, just let me explain!”

 

Oh, how Lance wanted to brush Keith off. If he were stronger, maybe he could have pushed Keith aside. Maybe he could have told Keith to  _ leave him the fuck alone _ …

 

But he couldn’t.

 

“You have ten minutes.”

 

He  _ was _ weak, after all.

 

\---

 

Keith explained everything. There, in the middle of the empty Garrison hallway, Keith laid his heart out bare. He could barely see Lance’s pained expression through the haze of tears in his eyes.

 

It had been ten minutes.

 

But Lance continued to listen.

 

\---

 

“We messed up, didn’t we?” Lance smiled shakily.

 

“We kinda did,” Keith agreed.

 

“Though I think you messed up more than I did–”

 

“Are you seriously going to make this a competition?”   
  


“Once a rival, always a rival!”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Oh, yeah, totally. You are the number one messer-upper. I blame you for–”

 

A kiss. Short, sweet, slightly hesitant. But it got Lance to stop rambling, so Keith continued to do it.

 

“Huh,” Lance muttered once they pulled away. “I think I forgive you.”

 

“You idiot,” Keith laughed. “Come here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Agh, I wish the ending was a bit longer and a little less rushed, but at 5k I wanted to get this fic done so I could work on the next day for Klance Au Month! Maybe later I'll revisit this story and fix up the ending, but for now, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
> See you for Day 9 of Klance Au Month! :)


End file.
